BORN and raised in Jamaica until she migrated to England as a young adult, Donna Lumsden defied the odds to become a councillor and then mayor of Barking and Dagenham, a borough in East London.

Now, the Jamaican is sharing a message of hope with people who are currently struggling: “Don’t throw in the towel. There is always a better way where life becomes better.”

When Lumsden was 14 her mother died, forcing her to become caregiver to her seven brothers and sisters. Only one of her siblings, a brother, was older than she was, but she assumed caregiver responsibilities for him as well. Her father was still alive but, for reasons undisclosed, could not provide much assistance to the children.

She managed to get to the Cayman Islands where some close friends helped her to get the necessary documentation required to go and live in England, and she moved to that country in the early 1980s.

She told the Jamaica Observer that on arrival in England she was faced with blatant racism, but she decided to stay humble and quietly made her moves towards creating a successful life.

“I chose not to have children of my own because I became mother to my brothers and sisters. I did everything at the home. My journey from Jamaica to Britain was a challenge. One of the first challenges was that they never accepted black people in the early ’80s; it was really hard to become a part of British society. It was just racist.

“I remember when I was working with Royal Mail and they sent me to work in Chillford, which was the most racist place they ever sent me. One day I sat on a bus and the lady beside me got up. I was asking myself why she got up. When I gave the bus driver the money, he put my change on the seat. I went to work and I asked why that was happening and they said it was because of my skin colour. I had to learn to accept it. I had to put aside the ego I had as a Jamaican,” said Lumsden during a recent sit-down interview at the Observer’s head offices in St Andrew.

Before she left for England, Lumsden lived in Waterford, Portmore, St Catherine and was very involved in politics, but she said she never had it in her intentions to become politically involved or run for a high office in a First World country.

“I used to give out information for [former Prime Minister] Edward Seaga and I used to run up and down in politics. I went to England from Waterford. Before I left for England I was a domestic helper at one point, and I enjoyed it because it helped me to be who I am today,” she said.

Further, her political career in England skyrocketed after she adopted a disabled boy who was abandoned by his Nigerian family.

According to Lumsden, while working at Royal Mail she was heading from work one day when she saw the boy on the street. She decided to take him home and report it to the police that she had found him. She said there was something about him that she loved, which influenced her to become his foster mom.

She said she went to training in order to learn how to manage a child who “nobody wanted”.

“In England I have a disabled son. When you have a disabled child, you learn how to fight. One day I wanted things for him, and I wasn’t getting through so I went to my Member of Parliament (MP). I told the people at his office that I wanted to see the MP and they said I had to make an appointment.

“I told them I wasn’t going to make any appointment and I needed to see the MP. I saw him, and told him what was happening and he said he would help me. He gave me the information I needed and I went away,” said Lumsden.

“The MP called me one day and asked me if I can come and give out leaflets. I said, ‘John, I don’t have any time for that’. At that time in politics it was mostly people who owned businesses and the Asians. My MP said the way how I fought for my son, they wanted me in politics. I started going out with them doing leaflets and they asked me if I was interested in becoming a politician in a very racist area, in Dagenham. It was so racist. They used to stone my home and throw eggs; they did everything that was bad. I think I was the first black person to live around the area. It was hard, but I bought the property,” she shared.

Lumsden told the Observer that when she was first called upon to run for office she hid, but the MP and other people of influence insisted that she become a politician. She eventually gave in.

“The interview was very hard. When they asked me the questions, I answered very intelligently. One man who was running for councillor asked me why I was in the area and why I didn’t go somewhere else. I told him that this is where I am going to stay and that he can’t intimidate me. When he went in for the interview he came back out, and then they called me and said it was my time. I did what I had to do. He was a councillor who had experience. This was my first time and I won,” a proud Lumsden said.

“I became a mayor because they saw how good I was working, how friendly I was, and how outspoken I was. I fought for my respect. I got homes for guys who didn’t have anywhere to live. I started working with children with disabilities. There has to be someone who speaks up for people. When I went to do the interview, everybody backed down. I was the first councillor who went up for mayor and nobody contested,” she added.

Lumsden shared that her vision for Jamaica is to see everyone show love to people with disabilities.

“I realise they don’t have a voice. I think Jamaicans should open their hearts some more to realise that children with disability are human beings and they need love. We need to understand that disability comes in different ways and we need to respect people with mental health problems, which we don’t.

“In England I am a successful foster carer. They give me the children that no other foster carer can manage; I get the children who do drugs. My wish is to open a second children’s home in England that is bigger than the one I have now, and take in children with more complex needs. I also want to open a home in Jamaica,” said Lumsden.